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(No Model.) 3 'Sh'eetsSheet 1.

A. M. ROSEBRUGH.

MEGHANIGAL TELEPHONE SYSTEM.

N0..389,601. Patented Sept. 18, 1888.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

A. M. ROSEBRUGH.

MECHANICAL TELEPHONE SYSTEM. No. 389,601. Patented Sept. 18, 1888.

In cranial":

N. PETERs. PhuRb-Lilhugripher. Washingium 0.0.

UNITED STATES PATENT OEricE.

ABNER M. ROSEBRUGII, OF TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA.

M ECHANlCAL-TELEPHONE SYSTEM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 389,601, dated September 18, 1888.

Application liled October 21, 1885. Serial No. 180,540.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ABNER M. RosEnRUGII, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, and a resident of Toronto, in the Province of Ontario, Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Telephones, of which the following is a specification My improvements relate to a system of mechanical telephones, or, as I prefer to term them, speaking-tube telephones, and t0 arrangements whereby the said systems are rendered available for exchange purposes, for which I have received British Letters Paten No. 9,962, dated August 22, 1885.

One part of my improved system relates to the construction of the line, the object being to diminish or eliminate the harsh metallic vibrations incident to such telephones as now used. The improvement consists in using cord for the whole or part of the line, and preferably using cord that has been saturated in oil to make it more durable. In cases where wireis used the connections with the telephones are made with cord, and cord is also used in parts of the line where said line is made to deviate from a straight line. The cord is preferably accompanied by a fine wire to be used for electrical signaling, and said fine wire may be Wound around or form part of said cord; and in cases where theline is divided into sections, as herein described, the fine wire accompanying said cord is made to make metat lic connection with the all-wire section, so as to establish metallic connection between the two telephones.

Another point in my system is the mounting of the diaphragm. This may be either of stiff material-such as ebonite, sheet metal, mica, slate, or wood-or of some flexible material-such as silk, felt, parchment, straw, &c.strained or affixed over or upon or within a ring-casing or other rigid frame; but in either case I mount it by an elastic or yielding cushiousuch as a ring of india-rubber interposed between the said diaphragm or frame thereof and the box, board, casing, or mouth-piecein which it is mounted. I find that the said cushion contributes to the good acoustic qualities of the instrument and eliminates lateral vibration. The instruments may be placed against the wall or other support in the room of the house or ofiice of the person who wishes to use (No model.) Patented in England August 22, 1585, No. 9,962.

it, the line being brought through a suitable aperture in the wall; or, where more eonvenient, I place the instrument itself outside the house, affixing it to the roof or wall where the line can be brought straight to the diaphragm, and on one or both sides of the diaphragm I connect, by suitable sockets or cavities or supports, a speaking tube or tubes, which pass through the wall of the house into the room or office. By this latter arrangement I am enabled to do away with many of the diiliculties attendant on bringing the line wire around corners to the desired point in the interior of the house. In order to facilitate the turning ofv angles when the linedeviates from astraight course, I employ thefollowing device,namely: A short tube bent at the desired angle is pro vided with a suitable diaphragm of ebonite, wood, silk, felt, leather, mica, metal, or other material at one or both of its ends, so that the air in the tube conveys the sounds from one diaphragm round the bend to the other diaphragm, and in case the line is also used as an electric conductor to convey electric-bell signals I then carry a light-metal wire from the line on one side of the tube to the line on the other, so as to maintain electric continuity.

\Vhen my system of speakingtube telephones is uscd for working an exchange system, I use, preferably, flexible tubes for connecting the mouth-piece of one telephone with the mouthpiece of any other telephone in said exchange. The lines from the subscribers may in this case be used for working the annun ciators or call bells electrically. The tele phones at the central office may be either within the building, the lines coming in through suitable apertures, or they may be outside the building, as described above, having tubes to bring the sounds to and from the diaphragms to within the office. In this case any two subscribers may be connected by placing the ends of a curved or flexible or other tube over or into or against the ends of the tubes of the two subscribers who desire to be put into communication. The connecting-tube may itself be of metallic materials capable of conducting electricity,or having wen u d ,i11sertcd,or woven into or upon it a suitable wire or strip of metal to conduct electricity, for the purpose of ca tablishing electric continuity between the telephones of two subscribers, the mouth-pieces of their telephones or of the tubes communicating with them being furnished also with corresponding electrical connections or switches. This arrangement of the system will, therefore, automatically put the call-bell apparatus of any two subscribers into communication at the same moment that they are placed in acoustic communication with one another through the connecting-tube with which their telephones are joined. \Vhen several of these pliable connecting-tubes are used, they may be designated by colors, letters, or numbers, so as to facilitate the making of the proper connections.

Inthe drawings, Figure 1 shows the devices for turning corners. Fig. 2 is a general view showing the system. Fig. 3 is a detail. Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are exchange-office arrangements. Fig. 7 is a view of the operators mouth and ear piece. Fig. 8 shows a subscribers station. Figs. 9 and 10 are centraloffice arrangements.

As in other mechanical telephones, the conducting cords or wires A are connected to and supported by diaphragms z, of metal, wood, parchment, felt, or other suitable material,and these diaphragms either form in whole or in part the sides of cases Z, or they close the ends of tubes, which may be either the transmitting, receiving, or turning tubes, as described hereinafter. Between the frame and the diaphragm is interposed an elastic yielding cushion, as india-rubber. The turning tubes E are used for transmitting sound between points when the wires cannot be conducted upon straight lines between the said points, and each tube is therefore constructed to support two or more diaphragms connected to branches of the same line, and is bent or curved, so that the said branches may extend from the turningtube at an angle to each other, the vibration of one diaphragm being transmitted to the other through the medium of the air confined within the tube. Different forms in which these tubes may be made are represented in Fig. l, and at the right in said figure is shown a turning tube with a series of diaphragms, the conducting cord or wire being continuous and extending through all the diaphragms which support the line, so that it can take a generally curved direction within the tube without contact with the sides thereof.

The conductor may be a cord saturated with any suitable material to prevent itfrom being affected by heat or moisture, or it may be a wire; or in some instances, where it is desired to use a cord and at the same time transmit an electrical current, a fine wire, I), may be coiled around the conducting-cord, as shown in Fig. 2. Each transmitter G is suitably supported and provided with a diaphragm, Z, which, however, is not necessarily in imme diate proximity to the mouth-piece of the transmitter; but when it is not so arranged a tube, Y, is extended from the mouthpiece to the diaphragm to which the end of the line is connected. This tube Y may be curved or straight, and by its use the vibrations maybe conducted from the mouth-piece to the diaphragm in such manner as to avoid the necessity of curving or turning the conducting-line in order to attach it to a diaphragm adjacent to the month-piece.

IVhere the ear-piece of the receiver must be at some distance from the diaphragm at the receiving end of the line, a conducting-tube, Y, is extended from the point where the earpiece is situated to the nearest point at which the diaphragm can be placed. An ear-piece, a, may in some instances be upon the end ofthe tube Y,as shown at theleft in Fig. 1; butIprefer to use in connection with the ear-piece a'flexible tube, a having a metallic ferrule, a at the opposite end, adapted for attachment to the end of the tube Y, so that the ear-piece may be attached to any one of a series of tubes Y, the flexible tube a bending, so as to permit the ear-piece to be readily applied to the ear of the bearer, and the portable character of the ear or receiving tube enabling the attendant at a receiving-station to put himself in corn munication with any one of a series of receiving-tubes Y with the use of but a single eartnbe. I am thus enabled to erect a mechanical switch-board for use in connection with a mechanical telephone at a central station, and to arrange a series of receiving-tubes Y in much closer proximity upon the support N than would be practicable if each tube Y was provided with a separate ear-piece. series of receiving-tubes are thus arranged in proximity, I may connect any two of them in such manner as to put subscribers upon different lines in direct communication. This temporary communication is effected by means of coupling-pieces O, which may be rigid bent tubes of such form as to permit the opposite ends to be applied to the ends of any two of the tubes Y that are to be putin communieation, as shown in Fig. 3. Iprefer, however, to use flexible tubes 0, as shown in Fig. 2, each tube being provided at each end with a metallic ferrule, a, adapted for application to the end of the tubes Y.

Each tube 0 may have a curved metallic sleeve, a, at or near the center, so as to permit the tube to be suspended to a hook, 0, arranged adjacent to the switch-board, as shown in Fig. 9, the free ends of the tube being ap plied to the different receiving-tubes without detaching the coupling-tube from its support.

In Fig. 4 I have shown an arrangement of receiving-tubes supported by a single switchboard, N, which may be used when the wires enterthe office from different directions.

When there is a series of switch-boards at one office, and it is necessary to connect the receiving-tube of one board with one of those of another board, I use a connecting-tube, 0, extending between the two boards and secured stationary in respect thereto, and in some instances a series of tubes 0 may be used to secure any desired connections.

In order to call up the subscriber or operator, I use any suitable electric signaling ap- When a ICO paratus*as, for instance, an ordinary bellsignal, Uhaving the usual magneto-generator, as indicated in Fig. 4., by means of which a magneto-current may be sent over the line through the medium of wires wound round the ear-tube or coupling-tube and connected electrically with the conductor A.

\Vhen the electrical current is to be transmitted from one conductor to another through the medium of the coupling-tube, a conducting-wire, s, is extended through or wound round the tube and connected with the metallic ferrules a, so that when both of the latter are applied to the receiving-tubes Y an electrical circuit will be established.

It is of course necessary that when the coupling-tube is disconnected from the receivingtubes the latter shall be put in electrical connection with the signal-that is, in a circuit therewith for which purpose I arrange a spring contaet'piece, .9, adjacent to the end of each receiving-tube Y, so as to normally make contact therewith, all of the contact-pieces 8 being connected to the ground-wire s'fior otherwise arranged in circuit, and each ferrule a is provided with a strip of rubber or other elec trical non-conductor, 6, so arranged as to bear upon the contact-piece s and thrust it from the receiving-tube when the end of the coupling tube is applied to that of the receiving-tube, the circuit being thus transferred to the wire carried by the coupling-piece.

It will be evident that other devices and connections may be employed for making the connection between any two conductors when the coupling-tube is applied and for reestablishing the connection between each receivingtube and the signal when the coupling-tube is withdrawn,and that any suitable signaling apparatus may be used.

In order to facilitate both the transmission and reception of messages at the central office, I in some instances provide the receiving-tube or eartube with an ear-piece, b and a mouthpiece, a connected to branches ofthe same tube, so that when the mouth is applied to the mouthpiece theear-piece will bein position adjacent to the ear, as shown in Fig. 7, and to support-such an appliance in proper position in respect to the signal device U, I may use a bracket, V, supported by the board N, as shown in Fig. 8.

In Fig. 2, M is a microphone communicating with the receiving-tube Y on one side and on the other side with the month-piece of a magneto-telephone, It, the telephone and the secondary coil of the microphone being connected with the line on one side and being grounded on the opposite side by the contactpiece .9 and its connections. As a modification of this arrangement a microphone and an eleetrical telephone may be combined,so that one diaphragm may serve for both.

In Fig. 10 I have illustrated the manner in which my couplingtubes may be employed for coupling the receiving ends of a series of tubes, which conduct the sound in the same manner as ordinary speakingtnbes, and are arranged in connection with the central oflice, so as to constitute a speaking-tube exchange.

XVithout limiting myself to the precise construction and arrangement of parts shown, I. claim- 1. The combination, in a mechanical-telephone system, of a series of conductors extending from subscribers stations to a central oifice, a series of tubes arranged in juvtaposi tion in the central oflice and each supporting a diaphragm connected to one of the conductors, and a detachable coupling-tube adapted to unite the aforesaid tubes, substantially as described.

2. In a mechanical -telephone system, the combination of a series of conductors extend ing from subscribers stations to a central office, a series of tubes arranged in juxtaposition in the central office, and a flexible coupling tube having terminal rigid ferrules adapted to fit over the ends of the aforesaid tubes, substantially as described.

3. In a mechanical-telephone system, the combination of the receiving-tubes in the central office, two or more switch-boards supporting the receivingtubes, coupling tubes, and connecting-tubes O,substantially as described.

4. In a mechanical-telephone system, the combination of mechanical sound-conducting connections and electric conductors extending between the subscribers stations and the central offiee,receiving-tubes at the central office, each provided with a diaphragm, and tubular connecting-pieces adapted to said tubes, said coupling-pieces having an electric conductor whereby electric connection is made simultaneously with the uniting oi'said tnbes,snbstantially as described.

5. In a mechanical-telephone system, the combination of mechanical and electrical conductors extending between the subscribers stations and the central office, receiving-tubes at the central office, tubular coupling-pieces having electric connections to complete electric circuits between any two of the receivingtubes, and a separate electric connection between each receivingtube and the centralotfice signaling-circuit, substantially as described.

6. In a telephone system, the combination of the receiving-tubes, a contact-piece bearing on each tube and connected with a conductor in the electric circuit, and a tubular couplingpicce adapted to said tubes and having elec trical connections to complete electric circuits between any two of the receiving-tubes and having insulating portions interposed between the tube and its contact-piece when connection is made with the coupling-piece, substantially as described.

In testimony whereofl have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. i

A. M. ROSEBRUGH. \Vitnesses:

J. HAY, J r., A. Runs. 

